E.U. Is Prepared to Combat Migrant Smugglers, Official Says

UNITED NATIONS — The top diplomat for the European Union said Monday that the bloc was prepared to take action against migrant smuggling rings based in Libya even without the approval of the United Nations Security Council. But the diplomat also sought to assure critics that the people trying to cross the Mediterranean would be rescued and given an opportunity to apply for asylum in Europe.

“Let me explicitly assure you that no refugees or migrants intercepted at sea will be sent back against their will,” the diplomat, Federica Mogherini, told the Security Council.

Ms. Mogherini was at the United Nations seeking a Security Council resolution to authorize military operations to “dismantle” the criminal organizations that ferry desperate migrants across the Mediterranean, including by rendering their vessels inoperable.

Rights groups and even some senior United Nations officials have nudged Europe to offer legal paths to political asylum so migrants do not resort to smuggling rings and risk abuse and often death.

International law prohibits countries from returning migrants who are fleeing persecution in their own countries.

Peter D. Sutherland, the United Nations envoy for international migration, told Council diplomats that any resolution to address the migrant crisis must start with “the immediate need to save lives.”

“If we do not frame our response this way, it would represent a moral failure of the first order,” he said.

The International Organization for Migration, a 157-member intergovernmental organization, has said that more than 1,800 people died while trying to cross the Mediterranean in the first four months of 2015 alone.

A draft resolution, proposed by the European members of the Security Council but not yet circulated among all 15 members, would authorize European military operations on international waters, as well as in Libyan waters and on its shores. These actions would be allowed under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which authorizes the use of military power to enforce compliance.

The draft resolution authorizes the European operation to inspect vessels suspected of being used for migrant smuggling.

Council diplomats have said privately in recent days that they are concerned about the approach, including the prospect of taking any action without consent from Libya.

Therein lies another diplomatic dilemma: Which Libyan authority?

As for whether the European Union needs Libya’s approval, Ms. Mogherini said she had met with the rival parties battling for control of Libya and sought to obtain their authorization.

The Libyan ambassador to the United Nations, who represents the internationally recognized government, has said it does not control the Western coastline, the departure point for most migrant boats, and is not in position to approve any European operation.

Council members said that they did not expect to adopt a measure in the coming days.

Ms. Mogherini said Europe was prepared to act even before getting a green light from the Council. She said European governments would also expand opportunities for migrants to reach the continent legally, including as refugees fleeing conflict.

The largest single group of migrants who have reached Italy and Greece in recent months are from Syria, followed by Eritreans, many of them children, fleeing a repressive government.

Some Council diplomats say they want authorization from Libya, but have been vague over who would give consent.

The potential effects of destroying any smuggler boats are unclear. Migrants who make their way to Italy are packed into wooden fishing boats that are abandoned at sea. The shorter passage from Turkey to Greece is often made on inflatable rafts.

In Brussels, European Union officials said they expected to submit a proposal this week to distribute migrants across the 28-member bloc, officials said on Monday, a plan likely to encounter fierce resistance from some national governments.

The proposal for redistributing migrants would be based on a quota system that would take into account factors like a country’s population, the state of its economy and its level of joblessness, European officials said.

Dan Bilefsky contributed reporting from London.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: E.U. Is Ready to Combat Smugglers, Official Says. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe